The Love in the Grief
by VivianRose12
Summary: Set in episode 6x22 "The Hole in the Heart". Booth and Brennan finally come together to break the laws of physics and change the course of their lives. True to canon. I do not own Bones.
1. Chapter 1

It was 4:42 a.m. and sleep was evading her. Images of Vincent lying in a pool of his own blood with Booth's hands trying to keep his life from spilling out flashed through her mind. He was there one-minute asking, begging her not to make him leave, and the next gone. She replaced Booth's hands with her own, desperate to see the light return to Vincent's eyes. She was in shock. Obviously, she knew he was gone, but her mind refused to accept it for the briefest of moments. As she lay on the couch in Booth's apartment she could not keep the memories of the day from flooding her mind. Unable to lie there any longer, she sat up, peeling the covers back and placing her feet on the cold floor. She eased up from the couch and the floor creaked under her weight. She headed for Booth's room, easily navigating his familiar apartment in the dark. She reached the bedroom door, and slowly eased it open, so as not to make any sudden movements for fear that Booth would be startled. Despite her stealth, as she stepped in the room, Booth was up with the gun in his hand, cocked and pointed directly at her before she had a chance to say his name. Her hands flew up, even with her shoulders, in surrender. She opened her mouth to say his name, but all that came out was "I – I'm sorry." Booth quickly realizing his mistake, but not quite capable yet of forming coherent sentences, is still holding the gun in place. "No, No I'm sorry. Did you hear something?", he asks as rational thought returns and he moves to get out of the bed. "No" was all she could get out, still rattled by the gun pointed at her. "Do you want me to put the gun away?"

"Yes." He places the gun on the nightstand, still loaded just in case. "Okay. What's wrong?" She watches him situate himself, before coming to the edge of the bed, where Booth is haphazardly perched. "He kept saying 'Don't make me go.'" A confused look crosses Booth's face as he trying to discern her meaning. "What?"

"Vincent. He was looking at me and he kept saying 'Don't make me leave.' He said that he loved being there. Why would he think that I'm the one making him leave? What kind of person am I?" He looked at her face, which was tired and tear streaked from the trauma of the day. He reaches over to where she is still standing and grabs her hand, pulling her to sit beside him on the bed. "No, come here. No no no no. Bones, you've got that all wrong. You got it all wrong." She began to argue in a matter of fact way. "No, I – I heard him. You did too. 'Don't make me leave.' That's what he said."

"He wasn't talking to you." She looked at him incredulously. "I was the only one there. And you. He wasn't - He wasn't talking to you."

"He was talking to God. He didn't want to die."

"No. Vincent was like me Booth. He was an atheist."

"Okay then he was talking to the universe then. He didn't want to go. He wasn't ready Bones. He wanted to stay." He watched as she took a second to process, and the tears began to flow. "Well if there was a God, then he would've let Vincent stay here with us." It broke Booth's heart to see her this way. "That's not how it works."She said nothing, but Booth knew what was going on in her mind. "I don't know what that means", she didn't have to say it for Booth to know that she did not understand. Tears continued to spill onto her cheeks and pool around her chin, and down her neck."Can I just…" her whisper was barely audible, as she leaned into his shoulder. "Yeah, that's why I'm here." Booth laid back onto the bed, taking her with him as she settled on his chest. He let her cry while he held her, gently rubbing her back and arm. Occasionally he would shush her and whisper things to comfort her. Booth didn't bother to look at the time, but he knew by the ache in his back, they had been laying like this for a while. He couldn't tell if she was asleep or not, afraid to wake her for fear that the crying might start again. He lifted his head off the pillow which sent a searing pain down his spine, to try to catch a glimpse of her face. She was asleep. He could tell by the little wet spot that appeared to be drool on his shirt. He tried to hold back a snicker as he realized the impervious Dr. Brennan was drooling on his chest. He watched her face as it twisted into a grimace. She appeared to be dreaming. He could no longer hold his head up to watch her. He let his held fall back and the sudden motion startled Bones.

She raised just enough to look around. It was still pitch black in Booth's bedroom so she couldn't have been asleep long. She wasn't sure if it was the effects of the days' events or just the sheer exhaustion from the crying that made her feel so disoriented. She turned her face towards Booth, whom had not said a word. She knew he was awake, because he had been caressing her lower back with his rough thumb. His thumb was just barely underneath his over-sized FBI sweatshirt he had given her to wear. Something about the rhythmic circles his thumb was making, made her stomach tighten. She inched forward, slowing searching for his face. She liked that it was total darkness. She knew her face had to be centimeters from his because she could feel his breath on her lips, hot and slow. It felt like the world had stopped, it was so silent.

Booth was frozen in place, afraid to move as if it would scare Bones away. He waited to see what her next move would be. He couldn't explain it, but his stomach was tightening in a way that made everything feel surreal. It was the same feeling he would get when he looked up at the stars. It made him feel so small and seemed liked the world had stopped turning. He felt her move forward and knew she was extremely close to his face. He steadied his breathing as he would when looking through the scope of his rifle, slowing his wildly beating heart. It felt as if all his senses were heightened, the pain in his back almost forgotten. He realized at the same time she did, that she had been holding her breath. She exhaled as her lips hit his with a force that should have hurt, but felt more like relief. It was the dam breaching, flooding the valley below. Relief and a million other emotions overwhelmed his senses. His hands were now fully underneath the sweatshirt as he splayed them across Bones back, feeling her soft skin in contrast to his rough palms.

She had one hand on his chest as she gripped a handful of his shirt. It was then she realized it was damp. She had a fleeting thought that it was either tears, drool, or a mixture of both. She didn't care, she just knew the shirt had to go. She began to sit up and Booth followed, unwilling to let their lips part. Once they were up right Bones' hands began their exploratory search for the bottom hem of his shirt. They mapped every muscle and curve as they made their way down Booth's abdomen. She quickly grabbed the hem and pulled it over his head. It was all happening in a rush, but yet seemed to be in slow motion at the same time. She knew that logically that was not possible, but there was a lot about everything that was happening right now that made no sense to her.

Booth was sure that this was a dream, even though he was also pretty sure he had not slept at all. The feeling of Bones in his arms had been too good to miss any of it by sleeping. He could sleep later. He was sure that this would never happen again. He was sure that they would get up in the morning and never speak of this again though the thought of that was literally painful. The feeling of his shirt being hastily pulled over his head snapped him back to the moment. He realized this was real, as her cold hands were making their way up his chest. Their lips were still moving together, never leaving the other. He moved them toward the center of the bed, as they had not yet moved only sat up from their earlier position on the edge of the bed. Once they were in the center, he slowly rolled them over so he was hovering over her, now with both hands on the bed on either side of her shoulders. He fully extended his arms, their lips parting for the first time, only because he had to breathe.

She hooked her arms under his to reach around and touch his shoulders. She let her hands run all the way down his body to his perfectly sculpted waist line. There she traced the v shape of his hips lightly with her fingertips, causing a shiver to run through Booth. She found herself mapping the scars and previous injuries she knew he had since she had thoroughly examined his x-rays. She made her way back to his shoulders and pulled him down to her. She wanted to feel the weight of his body on her. It was comforting. She could not rationalize how Booth felt to her. It was the same feeling she got when she was in the lab. Like this is where she was supposed to be. It was a like a feeling she could hardly remember from her childhood when her family was still together and happy. It was warm and defied logic. She wasn't sure, but she thought this is what home should feel like. He was currently kissing her collar bone from one side to the next, and then making his way back to her lips, making any thought impossible.

He was relishing in the closeness of their bodies. His sweatshirt had ridden up her stomach allowing their skin to touch. That almost sent him over the edge. He propped himself up on one elbow allowing his other hand to explore freely. He slipped his hand under the sweatshirt and let it wonder. As a result, Bones reached down and pulled the sweatshirt over her head and tossed it to the side. Booth put his full weight on Bones so that the entire upper half of their bodies were touching skin to skin. This sent them both into a frenzy, desperately needing to be as close as physically possible. The rest of their clothes were quickly shed and pushed to the foot of the bed. There was no rationalizing, no thoughts. It was years of tension being released all at once. It was unlike anything either of them had ever experienced. Booth knew that they could never go back to just being partners.

* * *

 **I just wanted to thank you all for the reviews and helpful tips. This is clearly my first story and I have no idea what I am doing. I have tried to rectify some of my spacing issues. Hopefully that will make the story flow a little better. I really wanted to capture the characters, and give my version of what happened that night. I wanted it to be sweet and tasteful. I realize that it is not very creative, as I tried to stay as close to the show as possible and answer some of my own questions about what happened after the fade out. Again, thank you for the tips and encouragement.**


	2. Chapter 2

Light was beginning to peek through the blinds of Booth's bedroom, spilling onto the bed and floor. His eyes fluttered open. He was about to look at the clock, but he caught himself. He wanted just a moment to savor everything that had transpired in the last couple of hours, before he had to face this day. He knew in a few minutes he would have to shower, dress, and head out the door to hunt Broadsky. He hated the idea of taking another life, but he knew he should have killed Broadsky when he had the chance and Bone's squint would still be here. He didn't want to think about the fact that if he had killed Broadsky that day, he probably wouldn't be here next to Bones. It was a painful thought. He hoped that when she awoke, she wouldn't change her mind. Fear. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling when it came to Bones. This time however it was different. The thought of Bones waking up and wanting to go back to being partners, friends, whatever… It would damn near kill him. He wished it had happened under different circumstances, but grief is funny that way. He was just glad that it did happen. Everything happens eventually. Those had been his words to her so many years ago. Had he known then? Maybe. He certainly had known long before she had. He turned over slowly so not to wake her. He watched her sleep. Her face more peaceful than he had ever seen it. She was beautiful. He reached over to move strands of hair from her face, he let his hand graze over her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her. She stirred. He hated to wake her, but he knew she would want to get to work soon. She needed to. He knew that was the only way she would be able to cope with the loss of Vincent. He wanted to take her in his arms and relive last night again, but he wasn't entirely sure what any of this meant. Were they together now? He wanted them to be. He tired to push all his thoughts aside. He knew they had to get going soon.

"Booth? What are you doing?" Bones looked a little puzzled. He watched her as she sat up in the bed, clutching the sheet to cover herself. She hadn't cared last night, he thought as a smirk crept over his face.

"Booth!" Hearing her shout his name brought him back to reality.

"What? What is it?" He was almost afraid of what was going to come out of her mouth next.

"We are going to be late! Why didn't you wake me earlier?" She was never late to work. The only time she had been was the last time she was with a man. The squints were bound to assume something was up. But with the loss of Vincent, they were all rather distracted.

"Right! Late!" He jumped out of bed only to realize a little too late that he was still naked. He frantically jerked back the sheets to search for his boxers while desperately trying to cover himself with one hand. Bones nearly let a laugh escape from her lips. Despite the night they had just had, he still felt the need to cover and understood Bone's shyness all at once. It had been dark last night and this was all still new.

"Prude," she mumbled under her breath. Booth shot her a glare as he hastily yanked his boxers on and retreated to the bathroom. "Booth! I need to shower!"

She allowed herself to laugh as he slammed the bathroom door. She was glad Booth had offered such a satisfying distraction to the sadness of yesterday and the confusion of last night. She ran her fingers through her hair as she remembered how it had felt when Booth tangled his hands in her hair. She really did not want to think about the consequences of their actions. Not right now. She slung her legs over the bed and scooted to the edge. She didn't bother to look for her clothes just yet. She was alone. She sauntered into the kitchen to start some coffee for Booth since she knew he could hardly function without it. She was accustomed to her tea, but coffee would have to do. She made a mental note to chastise him for his bad habits. He drank multiple cups of coffee a day. Not even the good kind. She reached up into the cabinet to grab whatever instant nonsense he had. She opened the coffee can and could hardly stomach the smell. She would need to introduce him to some Italian roast that she preferred when she did, on occasion, have a cup. She heard Booth get out of the shower, but figured she still had a minute to get back to the bedroom to throw on her clothes.

Booth opened the bathroom door, steam rolling out as he wrapped a towel around his waist. He could smell the coffee. He smiled. He could definitely get used to this. He shuffled through his bedroom to head into the living room. As he rounded the turn he looked up just in time to watch Bones reach up and retrieve two mugs from the cabinet. His mouth fell open. She was still naked, though he could only see the upper half of her back. She must have overcome any inhibition she may have felt earlier. He creeped into the kitchen so as not to disturb her so he could just watch her undetected for a moment. Watching her move about his kitchen, she looked so graceful. She was so oblivious to his presence, she danced a little as she hummed a tune. He wished that he could stay in this moment forever. He knew how cheesy it sounded but it felt like for the first time in years he could really breath again. He had been holding back how he felt about her for so long, keeping to himself and sometimes even denying it. He wanted to wake up to this every morning for the rest of his life. He fought the urge to whistle at her as she swung her hips back and forth as she grabbed the coffee pot to divvy it up between the two cups. Some splashed out and must of have hit her stomach because she hissed and stepped back, setting the pot on the counter, to examine her abdominal region. He took the opportunity to slip in behind her and wrap his arms around her midsection, planting soft kisses on her neck and shoulder. She stiffened at first, only because he had startled her. Then she had to fight to keep her composure as he made his way up her neck and to her jaw line. She leaned into him. Her bare back touching his still damp chest. He spun her around to face him and their lips smashed together as he pinned her against the counter. His hands sprawled across her back as he both pushed her into the counter and pulled her into him. Her hands were pinned against his chest, as she pulled back long enough to free them. She wanted to let them roam over his body, still covered in droplets of water from his shower. She was at his hips when she discovered the towel still clinging to his perfectly sculpted waist line. She let her fingers run in between the towel and his lower abdomen. He stopped kissing her long enough to let a sigh escape his lips. She captured his lips again as she let his towel fall to the floor. He picked her up, wrapping her legs around him, and headed for the bedroom. Only this time she diverted him. She grabbed the doorway of the bedroom as he carried her in. "What?" He looked up at her confused.

"I need a shower," she replied with that crooked grin that he loved. He walked them into the bathroom and shut the door. He let go of her legs as she slid down his body. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck as her feet reached the floor. She stepped over, letting her hands fall from his neck to grab his hand as she pulled him into the shower. He followed without complaint even though he had already showered. He stepped in as she turned the shower dial to hot. She turned to face him letting her hands wander over his chest. He reached out to pull her in close. Their bodies felt as if they were melting together. He knew there was no going back now. This was the sexiest woman he had ever known and though he wasn't ready to say it, he loved her. She knew that without him, this would have been the hardest day of her life. All the things she had been through in the last five years, he had been there in exactly the way she needed. He meant more to her than she was ready to admit with her words but her body responded in turn. He was a part of her now in a way that she could never separate, mentally, emotionally or physically.


End file.
